We took the lead late in the first half through Branko Pauljevic, but in stoppage time Joao Victor equalised with an acrobatic goal to send the tie into extra time. During the two 15-minute periods, our opponents went in front through Lucas Alfonso, but Ádám Szamosi equalised for us in the 101st minute. Although our team came close to securing a place in the Hungarian Cup final, top-flight ZTE FC progressed after a penalty shootout.
Everyone still has to digest this. We let the cup final slip out of our own hands and should have concentrated better at the end. But we were not second best at all; in fact, for 90 minutes we had the match in our hands and we were able to equalise in extra time as well. In a penalty shootout, only the player who steps up can miss. Alex is just as good a player because of that; it is part of the game. I think our team played better, but they were the luckier side. We performed above expectations in the cup and almost reached our goal. I am sorry that in front of a crowd like this we could not make the final, but we will keep our heads up and move on” our captain told the M4 Sport cameras.
MOL HUNGARIAN CUP, 2025/26, SEMI-FINAL
BUDAPEST HONVÉD FC–Zalaegerszegi TE 2–2 (1–0) – penalties: 4–5
Bozsik Arena, 5450 spectators. Referee: Dr. Bence Csonka (Gergő Vígh-Tarsonyi, Balázs Szalai).
HONVÉD: Dúzs – Csonka (Ujváry, 90+9.), Szabó A., Csontos – Pauljevic, Pekár (Szamosi, 66.), Kesztyűs (Szabó T., 66.), Hangya – Gyurcsó, Pinte (Zuigeber, 70.), Medgyes (Nyers, 90+9.). Head coach: Tamás Feczkó
ZTE: Mauricio – Csonka A. (Bitca, 73.), Akpe, Várkonyi (D. Silva, 118.), Calderón (D. Cedillo, 119.) – Amato (Daniel Lima, 73.), Szendrei, Kiss B. – Skribek, Joao Victor (Elosú, 90+8.), Maxsuell (Alfonso, 79.). Head coach: Nuno Campos
Goals: Pauljevic (44.), Szamosi (102.); Joao Victor (90+3.), Alfonso (92.)
